Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos' convictions of cyber libel upheld by Court of Appeals

Manila – Veteran Philippine journalist and Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa has been dealt another blow in her years-long legal battles. 

On Friday, the country's Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by a Manila court convicting Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr., a former writer at Ressa's news service Rappler, of cyber libel.

"The decision weakens the ability of journalists to hold power to account," Rappler said in a statement, as its staffers called on media colleagues and advocates of press freedom to be vocal and vigilant.